Eaton has partnered with Green Motion, a provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, to help smoothly integrate chargers into buildings with energy storage.

Together they are hoping to develop a scalable and modular design, that combines intelligent EV charging and energy storage solutions, for a wide range of applications in collective housing, commercial buildings, shopping malls, universities, stadiums and airports.

Craig McDonnell, the senior vice president and general manager of the power quality and electronics and emerging markets division, EMEA at Eaton said: “With a rising number of Electric Vehicles on the road, there is a critical need to have the right EV charging infrastructure in place and the right power capacity to support.

“Our collaboration with Green Motion gives us the opportunity to further meet the needs of our customers with a well-integrated EV charging and energy storage solution.”

The companies are hoping that by partnering, they can sidestep many of the constraints EV infrastructure is facing.

Richard Molloy, business development manager of energy storage at Eaton explained that as more EVs take to the roads, charging infrastructure will need to keep pace, which “will necessitate new forms of flexibility to be implemented”.

“With combined intelligent EV charging and energy storage, Eaton’s partnership with Green Motion will enable building owners to access the increased power required to install the EV charging infrastructure they want, while reducing the need for expensive and disruptive infrastructure upgrades and minimising the cost of energy by storing excess renewable power or cheaper off-peak electricity.”

The uptake of EVs in the UK is picking up pace, with 2019 seeing an 144% increase in the number of sales.